novelSusiti Chapter 99: Let's flatten the Xibe tribe together.
Chapter 99: Let's flatten the Xibe tribe together.
Chapter 100 Together, we will crush the Xibe tribe.
Chapter 099 Chen Ying looked at Lu Jiucheng, whose eyes were already squinting with laughter, and felt secretly displeased. This was blatantly planting spies in his territory.
Unfortunately, Chen Ying couldn't say anything. That's how the Ming Dynasty's system was. Every border army had a supervisor, and most of them were eunuch supervisors.
The eunuch system of military supervision in the Ming Dynasty was essentially an extension of imperial autocracy.
In the early and mid-Ming Dynasty, it did indeed play a role in strengthening central authority and supervising officials. However, by the late Ming Dynasty, with the widespread corruption of the political environment, the eunuch supervision of the army not only failed to solve the problems, but also accelerated the disintegration of the army's combat effectiveness and the collapse of the treasury.
The Tianqi Emperor's appointment of Wei Zhongxian led to a corrupt and chaotic government. However, it's unfair to pin the blame for this corruption on Wei Zhongxian; the government would have been just as corrupt without him. For example, during the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, although Wei Zhongxian was purged and replaced by a faction of eunuchs, the government actually became even more corrupt.
In particular, when Huang Taiji led his army through the pass in the second year of Chongzhen's reign and besieged the capital, Emperor Chongzhen was furious and wanted to take revenge. He then appointed Sun Chengzong and launched the Battle of Dalinghe.
In this battle, Huang Taiji besieged Dalinghe. Wu Xiang and Song Wei successively reinforced Dalinghe City using piecemeal tactics, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of elite Guan Ning Army soldiers at the hands of the Jurchens. This seemingly foolish act of sacrificing lives was essentially a result of the Guan Ning Army's collective survival needs hijacking military decision-making.
Faced with the life and death of Zu Dashou, a key figure, any rational military analysis had to take a back seat. This was also a microcosm of the trend of military generals becoming warlords in the late Ming Dynasty. The army's loyalty was first and foremost to its own leader, and only secondly to the imperial court.
Emperor Chongzhen then realized that an army without supervisors was essentially an out-of-control army. After the Battle of Dalinghe, he reinstated the eunuch supervisor system. However, Gao Qiqian and many other supervising eunuchs became a deadly poison. In key battles such as the Battle of Dengzhou and the Battle of Songjin, the interference of eunuchs once again led to disastrous defeats.
Although many defeats were caused by eunuchs supervising the army, there was one particular defeat where the responsibility could not truly be placed on the eunuchs. For example, in the Tumu Crisis, historical records clearly state that the eunuch Wang Zhen, with absolutely no military experience, encouraged the emperor to personally lead the expedition. During the march, he arbitrarily changed the route to show off to his hometown, ultimately leading to the annihilation of 200,000 troops at Tumu Fortress and the capture of the emperor. This was the greatest tragedy caused by the eunuchs' misguided command.
So here's the question: the Ming Dynasty's elite 200,000 Imperial Guards were ambushed and suffered heavy losses less than 100 kilometers from the capital. Was it Wang Zhen's fault?
With such great skill, he commanded the most elite imperial guards since the founding of the Ming Dynasty—not just the imperial guards from the Tianqi era, but the imperial guards from the Yingzong era, elite troops that had been through real battles—yet in this one battle, the foundation of the nation was lost, and the country was almost destroyed.
The so-called Battle of Beijing is a historical hoax. Even if the more than 200,000 troops of the Beijing Garrison were wiped out, did that mean there were no troops left in the capital?
Xuanfu Town had 150,000 elite infantry and cavalry troops, and the Daning Military Command had more than 200,000 garrison troops at that time. The Rear Military Governor's Office had nearly a million troops under its command. This was actually a conspiracy involving collusion between the inside and outside, so that the civil officials could override the imperial power and the military generals and control the Ming Dynasty.
Chen Ying did not actually oppose the presence of military supervisors in the army. In fact, the Shahe New Army had already established its own supervisory mechanism, which consisted of military judges.
Military judges were responsible for reviewing the soldiers' combat achievements, handling their feedback, and reviewing the promotion of officers. The military commanders of the Shahe New Army, such as squad leaders, centurions, battalion commanders, and company commanders, only had the right to nominate lower-ranking officers, but not the right to review them. Military judges had the right to review, but not the right to nominate.
Regardless of rank, officers cannot make decisions unilaterally; checks and balances exist to ensure relative fairness. Furthermore, the promotion system of the Shahe New Army differs from other armies; an officer within an army cannot rise from platoon leader to...
He was promoted in succession from centurion to battalion commander to captain.
They were divided into four parts: Shahewei, Daludao, Shuangchengwei, Yongninggang, and Yongmingcheng. Generally, officers in Shahewei would be promoted and transferred to Daludao, those from Daludao would be transferred to Shuangchengwei, and those from Shuangchengwei would be transferred to Yongninggang for meritorious service.
Chen Ying clasped his hands in thanks and said, "I am truly grateful for Eunuch Wei's guidance. I will definitely prepare a generous gift to thank him in person another day."
"No need for thanks."
Lu Jiucheng laughed and said, "As long as you can do your job well and keep the Jurchens in check in Nurgan, Eunuch Wei will be satisfied."
"
"Absolutely, absolutely!"
Chen Ying asked inquiringly, "By the way, now that I've been promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Da Ning, and my jurisdiction has expanded from one guard to five guards, can I recruit more soldiers?"
"Of course. With the current organization of the Da Ning Military Command, it has five guards under its jurisdiction, each with 5,600 men, so five guards would be 20,000 men, totaling 28,000 soldiers, plus one artisan guard!"
Lu Jiucheng said solemnly, "Expanding the army by so many soldiers will definitely be difficult. Let's take it slowly. His Majesty has allocated fifteen taels of silver and one hundred thousand shi of grain from the imperial treasury as funding for the new army!"
"Only 150,000 taels of silver?"
Chen Ying complained, "Eunuch Lu, do you know how much silver I've spent on these seven thousand-plus men of the Shahe New Army? Over three hundred thousand taels of silver in the last six months! Now, if I expand to twenty-eight thousand men, they only give me fifteen hundred thousand taels of silver. What can that even do? It's not even enough to fill a tooth gap!"
Lu Jiucheng smiled and said, "His Majesty has granted you permission to act as you see fit, Lord Chen. Can you find a way? Everyone in the world knows you are an expert in supervising the manufacture of all sorts of things, and you earn quite a bit of money!"
"No, absolutely not!"
Chen Ying knew very well that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and he also believed that Lu Jiucheng would report the matter to higher authorities.
"I believe that Lord Chen will definitely have a solution."
Lu Jiucheng continued, "It wasn't said that Lord Chen should immediately expand the army by 20,000 to 28,000 men. Preparations should be made before the new year, and after the new year, the troops should be stationed in Shuangchengwei. Take it slowly, starting with 15,000 men, and expanding to 28,000 men within three years is sufficient!"
"If I use my own money to train the imperial army, wouldn't I be going to lose everything?"
"The capable should do more!"
On the surface, Chen Ying appeared indignant and unwilling, but inwardly he was overjoyed. In any case, he had been promoted from a junior brigade commander to a full army-level officer.
The provincial military commissions of the Ming Dynasty were equivalent to the provincial military district commanders or regional commanders in later times, and were definitely at the level of a full-fledged army commander. Due to the special circumstances of Da Ning, his actual power was even greater.
Now Chen Ying no longer needs to worry about Shuangchengwei lacking a formal government. With the Da Ning Commandery in hand, he can fully develop Shuangchengwei.
Chen Ying was well aware that the merit-based land grant system he adopted in the Shahe New Army could theoretically address the problems of the Ming Dynasty, but this was only theoretical.
However, given the current state of the Ming Dynasty, riddled with problems, this policy faces an almost unsolvable vicious cycle, and it is difficult to fundamentally reverse the problem of the weak combat effectiveness of the border troops by relying solely on it.
For the policy of granting land to those who perform military merits to be implemented, almost every step within the Great Wall was fraught with difficulties. Where would the land come from? The military land of each garrison had been almost entirely seized by local gentry and officials. Other garrisons that wanted to follow Chen Ying's example would also face the embarrassing situation of having no land to grant.
Moreover, land in the Ming Dynasty is now highly concentrated. Who would dare to touch the imperial estates, official fields, and lands of wealthy landowners?
All that's left to distribute as land is unclaimed wasteland.
These lands are either barren or located on the front lines, requiring a huge initial investment for reclamation.
The problem was that the imperial court couldn't even pay the military salaries at the time, so where would it get the money to organize large-scale land reclamation? Historically, the Tianjin land reclamation project was only able to be carried out with the imperial court's investment of a large amount of resources, including government-owned land and equipment.
Without initial investment, wasteland cannot be transformed into fertile land.
The most troublesome issue is who will implement it. The bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty is almost the same as that of the later Great Ming Dynasty. Corruption is almost open, and factional struggles are at their most intense. From the central government to the local level, officials at all levels are busy choosing sides and making money. As long as the land grant policy passes through their hands, it will inevitably be distorted.
Even when Chen Ying was in Shahe, Changping, this policy was not adopted because he did not own any land. The Tianqi Emperor granted him more than 2,600 mu of imperial estate, which was already quite a lot of private property.
The problem is that these 2,600 mu of land are far too little to reward all the soldiers. Of course, reclaiming land within the territory of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission is no easy task either.
The Jurchens weren't fools either. How could they possibly let Chen Ying develop peacefully in Shuangchengwei? It was almost obvious that Nurhaci would make a comeback in a month or two.
Chen Ying has many troubles, but right now, he has been promoted to the position of Commander-in-Chief of Da Ning, and all five guards of Xingzhou are under his jurisdiction, which is a good thing.
Becoming a commander at such a young age is a great achievement. Chen Ying is not short of meat, especially canned meat. Then, Chen Ying sent someone to announce to everyone that he had been promoted.
The happiest people were not Chen Ying, but the officers of Shahewei, because they knew very well that if Chen Boying was promoted, they would also be promoted.
A year ago, Chen Daniu was a registered military household without proper registration. Then, he rose like a rocket to become the garrison commander of Dalu Island. Wang Tiezhu and Qin Siming did the same.
Even those artisans who had never led troops and knew nothing about fighting were appointed as officials by Chen Ying. Although military officers were not valuable in the Ming Dynasty, they were very valuable to those artisans.
In particular, the officers of the garrison were all hereditary. Even the refugees brought from Ningyuan City believed that Chen Boying would definitely need to recruit more military households to form five garrisons, and that their opportunity had come.
After all, when Chen Boying served as commander, he treated the military households very well. They not only had enough to eat, but also received money and grain from the state.
In short, the soldiers and civilians near Shuangchengwei were all very happy. Chen Yingben wanted to treat all the officers in Shuangchengwei, Yongning Port, and Yongming City to a meal.
Now things are much better. As the news spread, no matter how poor the various tribes of the Haixi Jurchen were, they were not stingy and drove their flocks of sheep, horses, cattle, and camels to give gifts to Chen Ying.
Even Lu Jiucheng, the newly appointed military supervisor of the Da Ning Commandery, received more than sixty strong warhorses and more than a thousand sheep. Lu Jiucheng knew very well that the more than a thousand sheep were worth eight or nine hundred taels of silver, and the sixty warhorses were worth at least two thousand taels of silver. In addition, there were pearls, gems and other valuables, which together amounted to no less than six thousand taels of silver.
He would never have had the chance to receive such valuables in the capital. As a confidant of both Wei Zhongxian and the Tianqi Emperor, he could only receive a few hundred taels of silver as a reward at most. His decision to volunteer to come to the Daming Military Command as a supervisor was the right one.
A grand banquet was held, allowing Chen Ying's troops and civilians to celebrate the New Year ahead of time. Even late into the night, Chen Ying did not rest, as he was now finally qualified to establish government institutions.
The eastern city of Shuangchengwei served as the office of the Da Ning Regional Military Commission, with two Deputy Regional Military Commissioners (second rank) and four Regional Military Commissioners (third rank). Internally, the division of labor was as follows: the seal-bearer was in charge of the affairs of the office, and the signatory was in charge of specific matters such as troop training, land reclamation, patrol, military equipment, and canal transport.
The original plan required the establishment of functional departments such as the Bureau of Records, the Bureau of Judgments, and the Bureau of Prisons. The Bureau of Records was in charge of documents (the rank of rank 6), the Bureau of Judgments handled criminal cases (the rank of rank 6), and the Bureau of Prisons managed prisons (the rank of rank 9). In addition, Chen Ying also established the Bureau of Exchange, the Bureau of Land Reclamation, the Bureau of Forest Protection, and the Bureau of Military Preparedness in Shuangcheng City, each with its own responsibilities.
First, there's the commander and deputy commander of these five guards. Chen Ying doesn't know their capabilities, and he can't afford to spend money to support a bunch of parasites. So, he plans to directly separate the guard posts from the soldiers.
Including the Shahe Guard he led, the military households of the Shahe Guard no longer bore the responsibility of fighting, but were dedicated to farming and training soldiers as a reserve of troops.
The soldiers were changed to a border army recruitment system. The soldiers were responsible for combat, not for farming or even for city defense. They were only responsible for field operations.
Chen Ying summoned the leaders of the Haixi Jurchen tribes, the Wild Jurchen tribes, and the Solon tribes. Chen Ying announced to them: "I know that your tribes have a hard time getting through the winter. I have decided to form an army of eight thousand wolf riders. I need your tribes to provide the bravest warriors —"
Aside from Hamutai, Menggun, and other leaders of the Haixi tribes, the Wild Jurchen and Solon tribes were in a dilemma. The young men of each tribe were their most valuable assets, and there would definitely be casualties if they followed Chen Boying into battle.
Once the young and strong suffer heavy casualties, their tribes will be annexed by other tribes. While these tribal leaders were considering how to refuse, Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "As long as the warriors are selected for the Wolf Cavalry Army, their treatment will be the same as that of the Twin City Cavalry Guard. Each soldier can receive 100 catties of snow salt or equivalent value of supplies per year."
The leaders' eyes lit up instantly. One hundred catties of snow salt was equivalent to four cows. This salary was already quite high. More importantly, which tribe was not short of food these days?
By having able-bodied men join the wolf cavalry, they could save food for their tribe. It's just a pity that Chen Ying only wanted 8,000 cavalry. If it were 80,000, how wonderful that would be!
Of course, the various tribes of Haixi Jurchen, Wild Jurchen, and Solon could not actually muster 80,000 cavalrymen. They even had to use women and children to make up the numbers for 50,000 cavalrymen.
Chen Ying nominally said he was drawing 8,000 men, but in reality he had drawn over 9,000. This was no small force. Once these 8,000 wolf cavalry were fully formed, along with the equipment provided by Chen Ying, the Jurchen banner might not be able to defeat them.
With the support of the new army from Shahe, Chen Ying was no longer worried about retaliation from the Jurchens. The policy adopted by Chen Ying was actually the policy of the Tang army. After the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Eastern Turks, it divided the Eastern Turks into twenty-four governorates under the Shanyu Governorate. Whether it was the eastern expedition against Goguryeo or the western expedition against the Western Turks, the cavalry of the Eastern Turks were used.
The Tang Dynasty drew young men from various tribes of the Eastern Turks, provided them with equipment and provisions, and could instantly acquire tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of cavalry. Even if the Tang army lost hundreds of thousands of men in the war against Goguryeo, it could replenish its forces in a short period of time.
Chen Ying continued, "Following me in battle, as long as you obey orders and follow commands, I will treat any wounds you sustain, providing each person with twenty taels of silver for medicine. For each person killed in action, I will provide their family with thirty-six shi of grain as compensation!"
The leaders were overjoyed.
Of course, don't think Chen Ying is being kind. He knows very well the nature of these tribal leaders. Whether it's the money for medicine or the compensation money Chen Ying gives, it will definitely not end up in the hands of these wolf cavalry soldiers. They are like cattle and horses, working hard for Chen Ying and their leaders. The only thing they can get is that Chen Ying can feed them well during their service.
If casualties do occur in the future, conflicts will inevitably arise between the soldiers' families and the tribal chiefs. Of course, even if there are no conflicts, Chen Ying will create them.
When Chen Ying announced the establishment of an 8,000-strong Wolf Cavalry, all the tribes were overjoyed. They began to compete openly and secretly for the quotas. Who wouldn't want to join the Wolf Cavalry and have a full stomach?
By reducing the amount of food consumed by the able-bodied men in the tribe, the people of their tribe can survive the winter. More importantly, Chen Ying also announced that he would establish a textile workshop in Shuangchengwei to purchase large quantities of wool from various tribes.
Wool was useless to the tribes. They would occasionally weave carpets or cloaks from wool, but the amount used was extremely limited. In their view, Chen Boying's purchase of wool was like providing relief to them through work-for-relief programs.
Having food to eat, coal to keep warm, clothes to wear, salt and tea—these were days their ancestors had never dared to dream of.
Soon, the able-bodied men from various tribes who had passed the equestrian and archery tests were incorporated into the Wolf Cavalry. They received brand-new cotton-padded clothes, sharp waist knives, and even armor. In particular, many of the tough men from the Solon tribe, who had fought to the death against the Ming army, burst into tears when they received hot white rice and salted meat cans for the first time.
The Wolf Cavalry was personally commanded by Chen Ying. At the same time, the Wolf Cavalry and the Guard Cavalry were merged to form an independent army composed entirely of cavalry, with three cavalry battalions under its command, each with three thousand cavalrymen.
Just as Chen Ying was forming the Wolf Cavalry, Nurhaci, thousands of miles away, had just completed an alliance with the Inner Khalkha. He deliberately sent someone to inform him that the Haixi Jurchen Xibe tribe had attacked their pastures, causing thousands of casualties.
Nurhaci roared in fury, "I will personally crush the Xibe tribe—"
The leader of the Ujiyet tribe, Chaohua, hurriedly said, "Master, there's a saying among the Han people: 'Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?' The mere Xibe tribe doesn't need the Khan's intervention. This servant will cut off Hamutai's head and send it to you as a chamber pot!"
Other Inner Khalkha chieftains also chimed in, saying, "We are willing to share our master's burdens!"
"Let's go together! Let's go together!"
Nurhaci waved his hand and laughed, "Since we're idle anyway, let's head to Haixi together and crush the Xibe tribe!"